Biography Childhood - Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830
in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the second of three children born
to Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Her brother was one
year older than she, and her sister Lavinia was two years younger. Education - Emily Dickinson's father regarded education as essential
to his children's future but he believed it was essential for children to think
for themselves. Initially, Emily attended the town's one-room school, but
by the time she was ten years old she was a student at Amherst Academy.
Emily attended Amherst College. One of her teachers recalled, "Her
compositions were strikingly original, and in both thought and style seemed
beyond her years."
Besides writing, Emily also enjoyed music.
With the exception of six poems that appeared in newspapers at various times,
and another that appeared in a collection of stories and poems in 1878,
Emily Dickinson never published her work.
Major Works:
Emily never had a book published but her poems would appear in collections
of poems and in newspapers.
I'll tell you how the sun rose,--
A ribbon at a time.
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks begun.
Then I said softly to myself,
"That must have been the sun!" But how he set, I know not.
There seemed a purple stile
Which little yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while
Till when they reached the other side,
A dominie in gray
Put gently up the evening bars,
And led the flock away.
-My personal reaction is that I really loved how she used imagery and
personification to describe the beautiful sunrise.
-Poetic Devices: Simile: In the 4th line, she is talking about how news
spreads as fast as squirrels. Imagery: Throughout the poem, the author is
describing what the sunrise sounds like, looks like, and feels like. Personification: The author is personifying the hills when she says that
they "untie their bonnets." Theme: The theme is most likely the beauty and simplicity of nature. It
shows that it is always good to appreciate the simple things in life. Rhyme Scheme - ABCDEFGFHIJHKLK
I'm Nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you -- Nobody -- Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise -- you know!
How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!
How public -- like a Frog --
To tell one's name -- the livelong June --
To an admiring Bog!
My personal reaction - I think that Emily Dickinson is expressing the fact
that she really enjoys being on her own and separated from the rest of the
world. I can tell that she ridicules the idea of being famous. Poetic Devices - In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses rhyming (mostly in
the first stanza), she uses similes (where she is comparing a "Somebody"
to a frog using the workd "like"). Theme - The theme of this poem is that you don't always have to be
famous to have a good life and sometimes, fame can be a bad thing. Rhyme Scheme: AABCDEFE
There is another sky by Emily Dickinson
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
My personal reaction - To me, this poem is saying that even though
there is "darkness and faded forests," there will always be "another sky"
where there are "unfading flowers and evergreen leaves." Personally, I think
that she is showing the difference between heaven and Earth when she talks
about another sky. Poetic Devices - The poem as a whole is a metaphor comparing a new sky
to heaven and the present darkness to hard life on Earth. There is also the
use of rhyme and imagery because Dickinson is describing the scene of a
"new sky." Theme - The theme of this poem is that there is beauty to look forward to
even if it seems like times are bad. Rhyme Scheme - ABCDEFGHIHJKL
Works Cited:
Berry, S. L. Emily Dickinson. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 1994. Print.
"Poet: Emily Dickinson - All Poems of Emily Dickinson." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://www.poemhunter.com/emily-dickinson/.
Childhood - Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830
in Amherst, Massachusetts. She was the second of three children born
to Edward Dickinson and Emily Norcross Dickinson. Her brother was one
year older than she, and her sister Lavinia was two years younger.
Education - Emily Dickinson's father regarded education as essential
to his children's future but he believed it was essential for children to think
for themselves. Initially, Emily attended the town's one-room school, but
by the time she was ten years old she was a student at Amherst Academy.
Emily attended Amherst College. One of her teachers recalled, "Her
compositions were strikingly original, and in both thought and style seemed
beyond her years."
Besides writing, Emily also enjoyed music.
With the exception of six poems that appeared in newspapers at various times,
and another that appeared in a collection of stories and poems in 1878,
Emily Dickinson never published her work.
Emily never had a book published but her poems would appear in collections
of poems and in newspapers.
A ribbon at a time.
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks begun.
Then I said softly to myself,
"That must have been the sun!"
But how he set, I know not.
There seemed a purple stile
Which little yellow boys and girls
Were climbing all the while
Till when they reached the other side,
A dominie in gray
Put gently up the evening bars,
And led the flock away.
-My personal reaction is that I really loved how she used imagery and
personification to describe the beautiful sunrise.
-Poetic Devices: Simile: In the 4th line, she is talking about how news
spreads as fast as squirrels. Imagery: Throughout the poem, the author is
describing what the sunrise sounds like, looks like, and feels like.
Personification: The author is personifying the hills when she says that
they "untie their bonnets."
Theme: The theme is most likely the beauty and simplicity of nature. It
shows that it is always good to appreciate the simple things in life.
Rhyme Scheme - ABCDEFGFHIJHKLK
I'm Nobody! Who are you?
Are you -- Nobody -- Too?
Then there's a pair of us!
Don't tell! they'd advertise -- you know!
How dreary -- to be -- Somebody!
How public -- like a Frog --
To tell one's name -- the livelong June --
To an admiring Bog!
that she really enjoys being on her own and separated from the rest of the
world. I can tell that she ridicules the idea of being famous.
Poetic Devices - In this poem, Emily Dickinson uses rhyming (mostly in
the first stanza), she uses similes (where she is comparing a "Somebody"
to a frog using the workd "like").
Theme - The theme of this poem is that you don't always have to be
famous to have a good life and sometimes, fame can be a bad thing.
Rhyme Scheme: AABCDEFE
There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
there is "darkness and faded forests," there will always be "another sky"
where there are "unfading flowers and evergreen leaves." Personally, I think
that she is showing the difference between heaven and Earth when she talks
about another sky.
Poetic Devices - The poem as a whole is a metaphor comparing a new sky
to heaven and the present darkness to hard life on Earth. There is also the
use of rhyme and imagery because Dickinson is describing the scene of a
"new sky."
Theme - The theme of this poem is that there is beauty to look forward to
even if it seems like times are bad.
Rhyme Scheme - ABCDEFGHIHJKL
Works Cited:
Berry, S. L. Emily Dickinson. Mankato, Minn: Creative Education, 1994. Print.
"Biography of Emily Dickinson." Virginia Commonwealth University. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/eng384/emilybio.htm.
"CPP - Ill Tell You How the Sun Rose - Emily Dickinson." Classic Poetry Pages Version 2.0. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
http://poetrypages.lemon8.nl/nature/illtellyou/illtellyouhow.htm.
Dickinson, Emily. The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Boston: Little, Brown, 1960. Print
"Emily Dickinson - Poems, Biography, Quotes." Famous Poets and Poems - Read and Enjoy Poetry. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/emily_dickinson.
"SparkNotes: Dickinson’s Poetry: “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?”." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 04 Mar. 2010.
http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/dickinson/section3.html.
"Poet: Emily Dickinson - All Poems of Emily Dickinson." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 04 Mar. 2010. http://www.poemhunter.com/emily-dickinson/.